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Congrats to
DR. Phil Vischer!!!
Biola University awarded him with an honorary degree in Fine Arts!
Songs include: "Billy Jo McGuffey", "A Message from the Lord", "No it cannot be", "Our God is a God of Second Chances", "Jonah was a prophet", and more. All of these and the score is very well done! The story is as Biblically accurate as other Veggie cartoons (only references to modern stuff, ex: bowling balls weren't around in the Bible days, are the inaccurasies) and the graphics are better than any other veggie production - really great!! Knowledge of the Biblical account is not needed to get this film! But it helps so that you can appreciate the motivation behind the characters.
The movie is 83 minutes long (about an 1 1/2 hrs. So if your kid or younger sib can sit through a Disney film, they can take this easily!). Since the story is no longer limited by the typical Veggie time slot of half an hour, the story is really good!
Now for the story:
Bob and Jr's Dad are taking Jr, Laura, Anne, and one of the peas to a Twippo concert. Bob's trying to read a map and gets lost on a mountain raod. Meanwhile Jr's Dad isn't being a very good co-pilot as he leads the kids in a sing-along of a Twippo song. Jr's dad gets too enthusiastic and takes the driver's wheel off of the car with his guitar. (how he plays it I have no idea...) They barely miss a (cute) family of porcupines. The mother takes out the right side tires and the car careens out of controll.
So they crash near a "Sea Foo" reastaurant where they mean the french peas. The boy porcupine hits Bob with a quill. Also there Jr (and later the others) run into the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (Larry, Pa, Mr. Lunt). They overhear Jr being mad a Laura. this is because Laura won a backstage pass to the concert and waved it around so much that it flew out the window. They tell the story of Jonah (they were there after all...) because they need to learn about compassion and mercy.
Those who don't want the story wrecked don't read on:
- Art Bigotti's bowling ball
- Pa's 3rd pirate hat (1st in
song - crossbones, 2nd in
ultimate silly song
countdown - happy face
pirate, & movie - tic tac
toe)
- Nearly every Veggie made
and more (either in
"message from the Lord"
or in Ninevah)
- Big Idea's hometown on
cruse sign, and the address to the studio on the letter Jimmy's delivering,
- Silly Song "The Credits
Song" plays at end of
credits SO DON'T LEAVE
EARLY watch the credits!
- Two little songs: "Bald
Bunny," & the ding dong
song (you miss them if you
aren't listening)
- Jaws, Willy Wonka & the
Chocolate Factory, Monty
Python, Lawrence of
Arabia, (I think Shrek too, but that's not official yet) and other tributes
- Actual Veggie merchandice - plush toy, go fish game
- License plate on van reads, "INA PKL"
Jonah Movie Web Site
So he decides to go in the complete opposite direction. He runs into a cruse ship ticket salesman (Scotty) and wants to go to Tarshish. But it's the furthest away so the only ones who will sail Jonah there are the pirates who don't don anything. At first they say no ("Alf is on in a half an hour so we couldn't possibly") but they need Jonah's payment (they're in debt b/c they bought too many chips because they wanted to win the Mr. Twisty's Twisted Cheesecurls contest to find the golden ticket (think Wily wonka) to tour the factory in Ninevah) But they've never sailed before.
On the ship they're bored. Jonah doesn't like the way they spend their time (playing ping-pong) and goes below deck. There he meets Khalil (friendship in Arabic) the caterpillar (well, his mother was a caterpillar, his father was a worm but "but (he's) okay with that now."). He decides to be Jonah's travelling buddy, against Jonah's will, and tries to befriend him. After a dream sequence where Jonah deals with is concience, the storm starts.
The ship is about to sink and Captain Pa wants to know why so he orders everyone to play Go Fish (instead of casting lots in the Bible) and whoever looses is to blame. Jonah looses so they have him walk the plank, at Jonah's request, and pa prays that they not be held responsible for it (NIV quote!). They give jonah a rubber ducky ring to keep him afloat (which Larry prays God will keep it safe). The storm stops but "there's something in the water!" The big fish swallows Jonah and the rubber ducky is safe!
Inside Jonah is depressed. Kahlil (who was accidentally sent to the fish in a bowling ball attack by the pirates) tells him to cheer up. At that point Angels (the Christian singing group Anointed) appear and sing about God's second chances. (a real showstopper - every preview screening I went to the audience applauded after this song!)
Jonah is spit out (half digested - cool touch) and goes to Ninevah. there he meets back up with the pirates who don't do anything and are arrested for steeling cheesecurls ("I thought they were free samples") Their lives are threatened ("the slap of no return!") but Jonah tells the king (Squash from High Silk Hat - with Goliath's voice from "Dave & the Giant Pickle") God's message. The city repents and they are saved. But Jonah won't buy it. He wants to see it destroyed since it's been so evil. So he goes to a hill to watch the fireworks. Khalil gives Jonah what for (Stealing God's lines from the Bible) and the camel, Reginald, and Khalil leave him there. - end of the pirates tale.
But the veggies hearing the tale don't like that ending since the story dead stops (The Biblical account dead stops - they can't add to it!!). What would he rather have? A great big musical number? Of course!!! But only after Twippo (also played by Archibald) walks into the same restaurant not finding his own concert! Twippos offers to give them a ride to the concert in his bus. But Laura is sad since she lost her ticket she figures she can't go. But Junior is compassionate/merciful and gives her his ticket. Twippo is touched ("did you ever hear the story of a man named Jonah?" - "Yes!")All of them can go backstage as Twippo's guests because of Junior's selfless action, all learn their lesson. Before leaving the toe truck drivers arrives and who can it be but a modern-day Khalil - Twippo askes, "Have we met?" The toetruck driver can only wiggle his eyebrows to the camera. Roll Credits (DON'T LEAVE EARLY-- Silly Song!) The End.
